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The European dimension in picture books

Abstract

This thesis considers European picture books and how they can be used by trainee teachers in upper primary classrooms. It is divided into two parts. Part One, Chapters 1-4, develops a theoretical rationale for creating picture book material which will both implement a European dimension in education and meet the requirements of the 1995 and 1997 National Curricula for English in England. Chapter One explains the notion of a European dimension in Education; Chapter Two traces European influences on the picture book since the time of Comenius, the first picture book creator; Chapter Three discusses the 'travelability' of picture books plus their role within the learning process; and Chapter Four concludes the 6rst part of the thesis, with a literature review, by drawing the strands of the first three chapters together to create a rationale for using European picture books at Key Stage Two. Part Two, Chapters 5-8, presents the study which was devised to put this rationale into practice for initial teacher training. It establishes the core questions of the thesis; Which books might form a European collection? How can such a collection of picture books facilitate a European dimension in primary education? How can this collection enable trainee teachers to implement a European dimension at Key Stage Two of the National Curriculum for English? Chapter Five outlines the development of the European Picture Book Collection (EPBC); Chapter Six presents a brief overview of semiotic, discourse and text analysis methodologies, suggesting why a Semiotic Text Analysis (STA) is appropriate for this research; Chapter Seven applies the STA to the EPBC; and Chapter Eight explores, through a number of activities, how trainee teachers might use the EPBC materials to implement a European dimension whilst meeting National Curriculum requirements.